Permaculture in Practice — The 31 flavors of landscape design

Permaculture in Practice — Salman's back, spawning passion, plants

On a recent tour of Salman’s Waterwise Gardening facility located in the back portion of the old Santa Fe Greenhouses property, subtle explosions of crimson and orange beckoned me from deep inside the wide-open door of a newly built greenhouse. Read this article.

Permaculture in Practice — Picture perfection with Charles Mann

Permaculture in Practice — Biophilia? I feel ya

As it turns out, the science is pretty clear: People heal faster, work more effectively, learn more, and feel better when nature is used to soften our homes, workplaces, civic spaces, and landscapes. Read this article.

Permaculture in Practice — A glossary of liquid assets

Permaculture in Practice — Confessions of a Reformed Pumice User

I used to rationalize that using pumice was worth it because of the efficient and productive ways that it harvests rain — with no moving parts and at an affordable cost. Now, for the last few years, I have replaced pumice with Growstone and have found it to be equally effective and much more conscientious. Read/download this article.

June, 2015

Permaculture in Practice — It was a wild day for kids' fishing

All anyone needed was an adventuresome child under 12 and a willingness to troll along at dawn on a Saturday. Read this article.

Permaculture in Practice — The reign of rain

Permaculture in Practice — Get active. Think passive.

In this age of inexpensive apps, strong plastics, and easily overnighted technology, passive water harvesting would seem almost anachronistic if it were not for its relatively low cost and high yield. Read this article.

SF GREEN — Loving Water: Preserve, Protect and Drink

The City Different happens to be four years into a drought ranging from Texas to California, but unlike other places this town already has a long history reflecting a deep respect for the elixir of life. Read/download this article.

May, 2014

Permaculture in Practice — Ramifications of the no-hens rule

Fortunately, the three families who are being sued by Eldorado’s current board are continuing to fight against one magistrate’s myopia, but they need our help. Read this article.

Permaculture in Practice — Happy B'day, Santa Fe Permaculture!

Permaculture in Practice — Losers win fowl war

Thanks to the 1,000 people who choose not to vote, Eldorado's bylaws will remain sloppily written and completely unchanged. Read/download this article.

October 2012

Permaculture in Practice — Credit union flies coop, lands on bank

As a financial institution created by and for the people who "believe' in the ethics of permaculture, the PCU has loaned over $15 million during the course of its 12 year history. Read/download this article.

Permaculture in Practice — Rethinking ye olde swale strategy

Permaculture in Practice — Happy Birthday Earth Day (Part 1)

The best part of the expo will be the two-day water-harvesting course taught by a highly charismatic and knowledgeable extension-service agent from central Texas named Billy Kniffen. Read/download this article.

February 2010

Permaculture in Practice — Water lovers, unite!

Our Economy requires growth, and our aquifers and rivers can provide only a limited supply of water for this growth. Read/download this article.

Permaculture in Practice — Go forth and synergize

Permaculture in Practice — The many-hued character of water

Fortunately, we live in a great place for developing these technologies, and we live at a perfect time to be carving out new and desperately-needed niches in the marketplace. Read/download this article.

July 2009

Permaculture in Practice — A bridge to somewhere

Now, I’ve got mountain bluebirds, house finches, sparrows, a couple of orioles and a number of other avian friends I can’t identify. Read/download this article.

June 2009

Permaculture in Practice — Big dams suck

We’ve always known that myriad faunal species are affected negatively by big dams, but it turns out such structures are one of the primary causes of fish extinction. Read/download this article.

May 2009

Permaculture in Practice — I’ve got your TARP money right here...

But keep in mind that at least 51 percent of your precious life should be spent looking for ways to improve your state of affairs, not to protest it. Read/download this article.

April 2009

Permaculture in Practice — Roof-Reliant Landscaping:

In order to accomplish this, we needed sections on appropriate landscape design, careful cost estimating, conservative water budgeting, and step-by-step information about the collection, conveyance, storage, and safe and efficient redistribution of precipitation. Read/download this article.

September 2008

Permaculture in Practice — Holy precipitation, Eco-Man!

Given expected increase in human populations worldwide and our propensity to overuse conventional water supplies, human beings seem to be running out of water at a dangerous pace. Read/download this article.

Permaculture in Practice — Healing ourselves, healing our planet

Sun Monthly — Nate Downey

Simultaneously, I became addicted to bicycle transportation, so I'm happy about no longer being a 36-inch waist.Read/download this article.

April 2008

Permaculture in Practice — Gradual greening

Gradual greening’s challenge, of course, is to incentivize approximately one billion 10-minute donations over a 30-year period, which brings us back to stories about our increasingly medicated drinking water.Read/download this article.

Permaculture in Practice — Anti_war? Take to the streets!

Permaculture in Practice — School cultivates crops, conscientiousness

Horses, sheep, goats, turkeys, and chickens are among the teachers, as are the large greenhouses and manifold rows of vegetable crops, legumes, berry bushes and fruit trees. Read/download this article.

April 2007

Permaculture in Practice — Words carve space for permanent culture

This column landed under my lintel seven years ago when Christopher Peck, one of the Southwest’s most talented permaculture teachers, took wing for greener pastures.
Read/download this article.

March 2007

Permaculture in Practice — Beware! The child of golf has come!

That's because desert golf is a vice that robs water from future generations for the purpose of temporarily gratifying a privileged few. Read/download this article.

Permaculture in Practice — Good news: free press means mulch!

Permaculture in Practice — Patriots buy at local-based markets

This means that making regular trips to farmers' market throughout the year should be seen not only as something good for you and your family and a practical way to act ethically, but as an easy way to be patriotic. Read/download this article.

July 2004

Permaculture in Practice — 'Russian Summer' and counterintuition

As Mollison explains in Permaculture: A Designer's Manual, it is not the number of diverse components in a system that leads to stability it is the number of beneficial connections among the various components that does so. Read/download this article.

Permaculture in Practice — How to select a building site

Permaculture in Practice — Pig-out! Observation can be feast for senses

Due to our busy lifestyles it's easy to impose preconceived notions on systems that are calling for design (or redesign). Read/download this article.

February 2004

Permaculture in Practice — Erosion control: Start small, start now

Revegitation, increased biodiversity, the recharging of the aquifer and deceased sedimentation downstream are all positive effects of any successful erosion-control project. Read/download this article.

January 2004

Permaculture in Practice — Fireproof promptly with proper pummeling

It doesn't matter if your tress are currently desiccated or just waiting patiently to be moved forward from the bark beetle's back burner.Read/download this article.

Permaculture in Practice — A short course: How to make pumice wicks

Of course, the main function of pumice wicks is to harvest rainwater, but another function is that they control erosion. Read/download this article.

October 2000

Permaculture in Practice — Use pipe, saw and gravel for plant-watering aid

You can either follow the steps below or invent your own method using the basic concept of getting water to plants roots, a variety of materials and a little ingenuity. Read/download this article.

September 2000

Permaculture in Practice — Passive solar design works well in Santa Fe

Passive solar architecture applies appropriate site selection and solar orientation in combination with thermal mass, insulation and ventilation to control indoor temperatures. Read/download this article.

Permaculture in Practice — Sowing Seeds: It's just like Being There'

Permaculture in Practice — Keep fire in mind when selecting building site

We are oblivious to nature's power - just as nature is oblivious to whomever thinks he has the power to own her. Read/download this article.

April 2000

Permaculture in Practice — An Australian experience with cisterns

Compared to the efficient and sustainable roofwater-catchment systems of the Aussies and Kiwis, our water delivery system is and energy-inefficient process that borders on the ridiculous. Read/download this article.

December 1999

Permaculture in Practice — Recycle graywater to conserve water resource